Site-specific sorption values for mixtures of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds in sandy soils
- North Carolina A and T State Univ., Greensboro, NC (United States). Dept. of Civil Engineering
- Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp., Toms River, NJ (United States)
The purpose of this work was to determine site-specific partition coefficients, K{sub d} values, for the sorption and desorption of a mixture of 11 volatile and semivolatile organic compounds (VOC and SVOC) in subsurface, low organic soils and ground water from the Toms River Superfund site in southern New Jersey. Although literature K{sub d} values are available for some of these compounds, many of the previously published values were measured with single compounds instead of a mixture of compounds. K{sub d} values were determined via column desorption studies using soils with preexisting contamination and uncontaminated site ground water via retardation factors and via batch sorption studies with contaminated ground water and uncontaminated soils. Partition coefficients estimated from the batch and column studies were usually not different across VOC/SVOC and were usually not related to solubility characteristics of the target compounds. K{sub d} values derived from the column experiments were usually an order of magnitude smaller than those estimated from the batch studies. Estimates of K{sub d} values through log K{sub ow} or water solubility relationships were usually greater than the experimentally derived K{sub d} values, especially for those compounds with log K{sub ow} values greater than 3. Predicted K{sub d} values from the partition models were similar to calculated values for the less hydrophobic compounds (Log K{sub ow} < 3). In addition, K{sub d} values determined from batch and column studies were usually smaller than literature values. These comparisons suggest that determining site-specific partition coefficients is necessary for hydrophobic compounds in soils or sediments that have low organic carbon contents.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 364034
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 28, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: May-Jun 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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